Serena Maneesh Opening for Dandy Warhols in Europe

No word yet on whether the Norse noisemongers will be gazing at brand new Dandy Warhols leather Fluevog boots onstage.

Blog it:

10-12 Oslo, Norway - Rockefeller
10-13 Stavanger, Norway - Folken
10-15 Luxembourg, Luxembourg - Den Atelier
10-16 Munich, Germany - Muffathalle
10-17 Vienna, Austria - Arena
10-19 Zurich, Switzerland - Xtra
10-20 Koln, Germany - Prime Club
10-23 Glasgow, Scotland - Academy
10-25 Manchester, England - Ritz
10-26 London, England - Hammersmith Palais
10-27 Paris, France - Elysee
10-29 Amsterdam, Holland - Max

The Maneesh management recently told Pitchfork that U.S. labels are showing "healthy interest" in the band, so a stateside Serena Maneesh release seems imminent.

Furthermore, did you know that dreamy Sufjan Stevens is credited as playing both flute and marimba on Serena's debut? He is. Sufjan cameo = +37 Indie Fantasy League points. Daniel Smith of the Danielson Famile apparently also worked on the record, as did producers Martin Bisi (Sonic Youth, Swans) and Steve Albini (every cool band ever, and Bush). Sorry we forgot to tell you that the first time.

Serena Maneesh: http://www.serena-maneesh.com/

Super Furry Animals to Tour U.S. With Caribou, Get Remixed by Danger Mouse

After a brief jaunt to Japan, the Furries will kick off the 21-date North American tour in early November with two shows at New York City's Webster Hall, before heading across the U.S. and Canada through December 1. The band is keeping this outing truly super and furry by featuring support from dream-tronica outfit Caribou at all of the American and Canadian shows.

The band is also scheduled to play a set at next month's "Keeping it Peel: The John Peel Day Launch Event" in London. The gathering is set for October 12 at the Royal Festival Hall, with fellow heavyweights New Order, The Fall, and Laura Cantrell also performing in honor of the legendary British DJ, who passed away last year.

Rings around the world:

10-12 London, England - Royal Festival Hall (Keeping it Peel) *
10-18 Tokyo, Japan - Liquid Room
10-19 Tokyo, Japan - Liquid Room
10-20 Osaka, Japan - Club Quattro
11-06 New York, NY - Webster Hall #
11-07 Boston, MA - The Roxy #
11-08 Washington DC - 9:30 Club #
11-09 Philadelphia, PA - Theater of the Living Arts #
11-10 Norfolk, VA - the NorVa #
11-11 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle #
11-12 Atlanta, GA - The Loft #
11-15 Houston, TX - Meridian Red Room #
11-16 Austin, TX - La Zona Rosa #
11-17 Dallas, TX - Gypsy Tea Room #
11-19 Lawrence, KS - Granada #
11-20 Chicago, IL - Metro #
11-21 Minneapolis, MN - Fine Line Music #
11-24 Vancouver, British Columbia - Richard's on Richards #
11-25 Seattle, WA - Neumos #
11-26 Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom #
11-28 San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore #
11-29 Hollywood, CA - Avalon #
11-30 Anaheim, CA - House of Blues #
12-01 San Diego, CA - House of Blues #

* with The Fall, New Order, Laura Cantrell, Venetian Snares, Jawbone, Misty in Roots
# with Caribou

In other Furry news, the band recently posted an exclusive remix of "Lazer Beam", the first single from Love Kraft, on the Love Kraft album website. The remix was handled by none other than producer-of-the-moment Danger Mouse, who also happens to be a super furry animal.

Super Furry Animals: http://www.superfurry.com
Love Kraft: http://www.lovekraft.co.uk

Live Beck, Björk on Gilles Peterson's BBC Sessions

Thanks to his uncanny selector abilities and library of live recordings by guests who have appeared on his show, Peterson's built himself quite a legacy. If you've missed most of those sessions-- and if you're American, odds are that you have-- you'll soon have your chance to imagine what Sunday nights in the UK are like, as Gilles Peterson Presents The BBC Sessions will be released on October 25 on Ether Music.

The double CD will feature previously unreleased performances from electronic, hip-hop and soul artists large and small, including Beck, Björk, The Roots, Common, Beth Gibbons, N.E.R.D., Matthew Herbert, Four Tet and Bilal. And don't worry, Peterson's links to the underground are still there, as many artists you may not be familiar with show up as well. Unless you're cooler than we are, in which case this whole tracklist is probably unnecessary:

Disc 1
01 Heritage Orchestra: Telescopic
02 N.E.R.D: Exclusive Jam
03 Jazmine Sullivan: Braid Your Hair
04 Matthew Herbert: Audience
05 Beck: Round the Bend
06 Björk: Who Is It
07 Roots Manuva: Dreamy Days
08 Peven Everett: Gabrielle
09 Spektrum: Kinda New
10 Beth Gibbons: Romance
11 Nitin Sawhney: Gilles Smiles
12 Plantlife: 3am
13 Fat Freddy's Drop: This Room

Disc 2
01 The Roots: Melting Pot
02 Heavy: Unbelieveable
03 Amp Fiddler: I'm Doin' Fine
04 Zero 7: This World
05 Bilal: Sometimes
06 Jade Fox: Grace Under Pressure
07 Dwele: Red Clay Revisited
08 NSM: Don't Say It
09 Roisin Murphy: Sow Into You
10 Homelife: Seedpod
11 Cody Chestnut: The Seed
12 Common: The Corner
13 Jamie Cullum: Frontin
14 Steve Reid and Four Tet: Knives and Forks

Peterson is also collaborating on a compilation with Jazzanova called Kings of Jazz, set to be released this March. Apparently, Peterson will be contributing "old school jazz" tracks and Jazzanova will be responsible for "new school jazz", whatever that means.

Additionally, Peterson will head Stateside for several live dates in October:

10-11 New York, NY - Canal Room *#
10-13 Los Angeles, CA - The Vanguard *$
10-15 San Francisco, CA - Mezzanine *

* with Dwele
# with Bilal, Jazmine Sullivan, Steve Reid, Amp Fiddler, Heavy, the Robert Glasper Trio
$ with Rebirth, Peanut Butter Wolf, Madlib

Gilles Peterson: http://www.djgillespeterson.com/
BBC Radio One: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/urban/peterson/
Ether Music: http://www.ethermusic.net/

Isobel Campbell to Deliver Two Albums Next Year

01 Deus Ibi Est
02 Black Mountain
03 The False Husband
04 Ballad of the Broken Seas
05 Revolver
06 Ramblin' Man
07 (Do You Wanna) Come Walk With Me
08 Saturday's Gone
09 It's Hard to Kill a Bad Thing
10 Honey Child What Can I Do?
11 Dusty Wreath
12 The Circus Is Leaving Town

Writing in her website's journal back in April, Campbell contrasted Ballad with a second album she'd worked on around the same time: "[The second] record is delicate and sparse. Inspired by magic, fertility, lunar cycles and leading ladies of folk-- Jean Ritchie and Shirley Collins. It is an even mixture of new compositions and old folk ballads. I imagine many of the songs as bewitched lullabies." Sounds like it'll fit right in with Devendra, Joanna and all those freaky forest children.

In April, that album's working title was Over the Wheat and the Barley, which has since become the less farm-evoking Milk White Sheets. Campbell and V2 currently plan a late 2006 release for Sheets, which contains help from ex/future(?) Smashing Pumpkin James Iha and Soup Dragons guitarist Jim McCullough. Stevie Nicks must have been busy.

Isobel Campbell: http://www.isobelcampbell.com

Matthew Dear Gets Dirty as Audion

A James Spader-sized leap from the grooved-out glory (or "Dog Days", heh) of his 2003 high-water-mark Leave Luck to Heaven, Dear nails his playful pops, twitches and glitches to a menacing mechanic hell on album, which comes off as 4/4 techno turned into fever. Or, as Pitchfork's own Philip Sherburne put it, "Acid lashings, stiletto stabs, and knotty, knotty sub-bass-- this is the sound of giving in and letting go."

Get busy with these Suckfish tracklists...in bed, in the backseat, in the kitchen, in a dungeon...:

CD:

01 Vegetables
02 Your Place or Mine
03 Titty Fuck
04 T.B.
05 Kisses
06 Wield
07 Taut
08 Rubber
09 Uvular
10 The Pong
11 Just Fucking

2xLP:

A1 Vegetables
A2 Uvular
B1 Taut
B2 Rubber
C1 T.B.
C2 Wield
D1 Chance
D2 New J.

Dear/Audion is currently supporting the album with a club tour alongside German DJ goddess Ellen Allien. Bring carrots, cucumbers and tubes of lube here:

09-28 Detroit, MI - Oslo *
09-29 Chicago, IL - Sound Bar *#
09-30 San Francisco, CA - 1015 *
10-01 Los Angeles, CA - Avalon *
10-14 Osaka, Japan - Club Noon
10-15 Tokyo, Japan - Club Air
10-21 Sydney, Australia - Mandarin Club
10-22 Melbourne, Australia - Honky Yonks

* with Ellen Allien
# with Kill Memory Crash

Audion: http://www.suckfish.org/
Ghostly International: http://www.ghostly.com/

Kasabian to Release Live DVD

01 I.D.
02 Cutt Off
03 Reason is Treason
04 Running Battle
05 Processed Beats
06 55
07 Test Transmission
08 Butcher Blues
09 Night Workers
10 Pan Am Slit Scan
11 L.S.F. (Lost Souls Forever)
12 U Boat
13 Ovary Stripe
14 Club Foot

The band have been opening for Oasis over here in the U.S. recently; we assume that after their set, Kasabian go and take careful notes on their fellow British rowdies' stage antics. You know, learning from the masters and all that. They'll also be playing the second day of the Across the Narrows Fest in New York City this weekend, alongside Oasis, Jet, the Lemonheads, Doves, Jesse Malin and the Redwalls.

Those last few dates:

09-29 Columbia, MD - Merriwether Post Pavilion *#
09-30 Cuyahoga Falls, OH - Blossom Music Center *#
10-02 Staten Island, NY - Across the Narrows Festival *#
10-03 Atlantic City, NJ - House of Blues *

* with Oasis
# with Jet

href="http://pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/k/kasabian/kasabian.shtml">Kasabian: Kasabian
* Kasabian: http://www.kasabian.co.uk/kasabian

Northern State Teaming Up with Tegan and Sara for American Tour

The girls are fresh off a seemingly not-totally-amicable (but voluntary) split from Columbia Records, which released their debut album All City last year. But unlike most ex-lovers, NS are completely open about their break-up.

"We had some really amazing experiences making All City, working with some of our hip hop heroes like Pete Rock and Muggs from Cypress Hill," MC Spero said in a press release. "But you take a real risk when you sign with a major, and we knew that going into it." Sadly, the risk in question involved disappointment over Columbia's level of promotion for the record and not, say, Jello-wrestling alligators. If it had been Jello-wrestling alligators, you have to admit, that would have been cool.

But on to bigger and better things! The hook up with Tegan and Sara grew from e-mail exchanges between Spero and Tegan, wherein the girls expressed a mutual admiration for each other's music. The groups eventually met up and discussed "how much it sucks to feel like we're the only girls everywhere we go, especially when we're on the road," Spero said.

We're pretty sure women are actually sighted regularly in many of the cities below, but we can't vouch for all of them. Like, Bloomington could just be one giant Iron John group. We wouldn't know. Dates:

10-02 Providence, RI - Lupo's *
10-03 New Haven, CT - Toad's Place *
10-04 Northampton, MA - Pearl Street *
10-06 Detroit, MI - The Majestic *
10-07 Chicago, IL - The Metro *
10-08 Grinnell, IA - Harris Center Concert Hall, Grinnell College *
10-09 Bloomington, IN - Buskirk Chumley Theater *
10-10 Urbana, IL - Canopy Club *
10-11 Columbia, MO - Missouri Theater *
10-15 Berkeley, CA - Pauley Ballroom, UC Berkeley *
10-16 Sacramento, CA - University Ballroom, Cal State Sacramento *
10-17 Chico, CA - Bell Memorial Union #006, Cal State Chico *
10-18 Eugene, OR - McDonald Theater *
10-19 Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom *
10-20 Seattle, WA - The Crocodile

* with Tegan and Sara

Northern State: http://www.northernstate.net
Tegan and Sara: http://www.teganandsara.com

The Hold Steady Not Too Cool for School

By now, it has probably set in that this show a) isn't at a bar, b) isn't at night, and c) won't be open to the public. But we still think you should know about it, because the circumstances surrounding the performance are pretty darn cool. See, the event is part of a special program at LHS called Freshman Academy, one dedicated to aiding ESL, Special Education, and behaviorally/emotionally troubled freshmen in the transition from middle school to high school.

One of the Freshman Academy instructors, Thom Uhl, heard about the Hold Steady on NPR's All Things Considered, and thought that the band's music and message would fit right in on Mental Health Mondays, a segment of the program directed at tackling various teen and social issues. Uhl contacted the Hold Steady and, well, the rest is history...or upcoming...or something!

The class is currently studying the band's music and using the lyrics to fuel class discussion. In preparation for the big day, the kids are participating in an invitation-design contest, constructing a Hold Steady Advent calendar and...wait for it...staging a Hold Steady look-alike contest. That gets a 10.0 on the Pitchfork Cuteness Scale. And the Awesomeness Scale.

Hold Steady vocalist/guitarist Craig Finn said in a press release about the event, "We were very honored to get Mr. Uhl's invitation. Playing music is about connecting with people, and not everyone can make it to a traditional rock show at a club. Kids are at a tough age, and an age where I increasingly turned to rock and roll for comfort and escape. Separation Sunday speaks to that sort of 'salvation', so it's exciting to see a teacher recognize this, and incorporate it into this curriculum."

The concert is also serving as a fundraiser for the program. If you'd like to join in the fun, send a contribution to Thom Uhl, c/o Littleton High School, 199 East Littleton, Colorado, 80121.

In other Hold Steady news, the band has been written into the script of a future episode of the hit television show "Lost", which will air sometime in October. That's all we know right now. But even if we did know more, if we told you, we'd have to kill you.

For those of you who are beyond high school age (though probably need some work developing your social skills regardless), the Hold Steady is kicking off a tour on October 6. Calm those nerves and get ready for some peer-to-peer networking.

Rock Rock, Rock N Roll High School!

09-30 Hoboken, NJ - Maxwell's
10-06 Lancaster, PA - Lizard Lounge at Chameleon
10-09 Duluth, MN - Pizza Luce
10-10 Fargo, ND - Great Northern Brewery
10-11 Winnipeg, Manitoba - West End Cultural Centre
10-14 Vancouver, British Columbia - Richard's on Richards *
10-15 Seattle, WA - Neumo's *
10-16 Portland, OR - Berbati's Pan *
10-17 Eugene, OR - W.O.W. Hall *
10-18 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall *
10-20 Los Angeles, CA - Knitting Factory *
10-22 San Diego, CA - The Casbah *
10-23 Tucson, AZ - Plush *
10-25 Littleton, CO - Littleton High School at South Gym (PRIVATE)
10-25 Denver, CO - Larimer Lounge *#
10-27 Columbia, MO - Mojo's *#
10-28 Chicago, IL - Logan Square Auditorium *
10-29 Madison, WI - Annex *
10-30 Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue *
11-01 Ferndale, MI - Magic Bag *
11-02 Toronto, Ontario - Opera House *
11-03 Montreal, Quebec - La Sola *
11-04 Ithaca, NY - Cornell University *
11-05 Cambridge, MA - The Middle East *
11-06 New Haven, CT - Bar Night Club
11-07 New York City, NY - Webster Hall %
11-18 Hanover, NH - Fuel Rocket Club at Dartmouth College
11-25 Philadelphia, PA - Trocadero $
11-26 Poughkeepsie, NY - The Chance $

* with the Constantines
# with the Cops
% with Blood on the Wall, Thunderbirds Are Now!
$ with Bouncing Souls

* The Hold Steady: http://www.theholdsteady.com/

Franz Ferdinand Take You Out to Eat, Prep Live DVD

Kapranos, who once worked as a chef, will document the good, bad, and odd food FF experiences over the course of their current tour, in a column entitled "Soundbites" that runs every Friday. Hmm... he cooks, cleans up nice, writes great pop songs--shit, some cute girl from an overrated American indie rock band better snatch that boy up quick!

In last week's installment, he wrote, "The best preparation I had for touring with a band was working as a chef alongside Bob Hardy, way before he become Franz Ferdinand's bassist, in the kitchen of a Glasgow restaurant. We wielded knives, hot fat and broccoli inches from each other in a small, windowless kitchen through 9am-1am shifts. We poured cooking brandy down our throats and scorn upon the waiters. Sharing a claustrophobic tour bus, as we do now, is tame in comparison... We learned that a great group dynamic is worth more than the merits of any individual, that langoustines fight back when you kill them, and that boiled marrowbones make the jus that glues together a good menu." Like all Franz Ferdinand songs, the column doesn't really get good until about 20 seconds in.

In less gastronomical news, Franz Ferdinand will drop a live double-DVD November 14, according to NME.com. (That's the UK release date, a US one is still being determined.) The set will contain a slew of live performances, interviews, easter eggs, karaoke film versions of "Matinee" and "Take Me Out," and a behind-the-scenes documentary entitled "Tour de Franz" (oh come on guys, leave the puns to us, sheesh!) The second disk will also contain complete performances from London and San Fransisco.

Hold up, though: a karaoke version of "Take Me Out"? Throw that on for your cousins during Thanksgiving dinner, and you got your own Kidz Bop!

DVD tracklisting:

Disc One: Franz Ferdinand Live

01 Michael (London - Brixton Academy)
02 Tell Her Tonight (New York - Pianos)
03 40 Ft (San Francisco - The Regency Grand)
04 Take Me Out (Scotland - T in the Park)
05 Cheating on You (Belgium - Rock Werchter)
06 Love and Destroy (Los Angeles - The Avalon)
07 Matinee (Scotland - T in the Park)
08 Van Tango (San Francisco - The Regency Grand)
09 Auf Asche (London - Brixton Academy)
10 Come on Home (Glasgow - Barrowlands)
11 Darts of Pleasure (San Francisco - The Regency Grand)
12 Shopping for Blood (Belgium - Rock Werchter)
13 Jacqueline (Glasgow - Barrowlands)
14 This Fire (Los Angeles - The Avalon)

Disc Two: Franz Ferdinand Live At Brixton Academy

01 Michael
02 Tell Her Tonight
03 40 Ft
04 Your Diary
05 Take Me Out
06 Cheating on You
07 Matinee
08 I'm Your Villain
09 Van Tango
10 Auf Asche
11 Come On Home
12 Love and Destroy
13 Darts of Pleasure
14 Shopping for Blood
15 This Boy
16 Jacqueline
17 This Fire

Franz Ferdinand Live At San Francisco

01 Cheating On You
02 Tell Her Tonight
03 40 Ft
04 Van Tango
05 Auf Asche
06 Matinee
07 Jacqueline
08 Love and Destroy
09 Take Me Out
10 Michael
11 Darts of Pleasure
12 Shopping for Blood
13 Come on Home
14 This Fire

Franz Ferdinand and their label are attempting to lure all those godless file-sharers into buying You Could Have It So Much Better... on cold, hard plastic by prettying up the disc with all sorts of goodies. Those who pre-order the American version through Sony Music will receive a bonus CD featuring the B-sides for the "Do You Want To" single. And they are...

01 Your Diary
02 Fabulously Lazy
03 What You Meant (acoustic)

According to the Franz website, the UK version of the album will be available as a limited-edition double-disc containing a DVD with a "making of" featurette, interviews, the "Do You Want To" video, photos, and access to a special section of the website with other top-secret fun stuff. For us Americans, we can get all that stuff if we buy the DualDisc. What, Brits can't handle flipping CDs over? Weird.

It's been awhile since we last posted the You Could Have It So Much Better... tracklist, so what the hell, let's do it again. It's already going to take you longer to read this story that it is to listen to the damn thing:

01 The Fallen
02 Do You Want To
03 This Boy
04 Walk Away
05 Evil and a Heathen
06 You're the Reason I'm Leaving
07 Eleanor, Put Your Boots Back On
08 Well, That Was Easy
09 What You Meant
10 I'm Your Villain
11 You Could Have It So Much Better
12 Fade Together
13 Outsiders

And if your eyes haven't glazed over already, here are da Franz's current tour dates:

09-27 Denver, CO - Fillmore Auditorium *#
09-28 Salt Lake City, UT - Great Salt Air *#
10-01 Seattle, WA - Paramount Theatre *$
10-02 Seattle, WA - Paramount Theatre *$
10-03 Portland, OR - Roseland *$
10-04 Vancouver, British Columbia - Orpheum *$
10-06 San Francisco, CA - Bill Graham Civic Auditorium *$
10-07 Los Angeles, CA - Greek Theatre *$
10-08 Los Angeles, CA - Greek Theatre *$
10-09 San Diego, CA - SDSU Open Air Theatre *$
10-11 Las Vegas, NV - The Joint *$
10-14 Upper Darby, PA - Tower Theatre *%
10-15 Boston, MA - Orpheum Theatre *%
10-17 New York, NY - The Theater at Madison Square Garden *$
10-18 Toronto, Ontario - Ricoh Centre *$
10-27 Leuven, Belgium - Brabanthal &
10-28 Paris, France - Le Zenith &
10-31 Rouen, France - Le Zenith &
11-01 Lille, France - Le Zenith &
11-02 Metz, France - Les Arenes &
11-04 Grenoble, France - Le Summum &
11-05 Dijon, France - Le Zenith &
11-07 Düsseldorf, Germany - Phillipshale @
11-08 Berlin, Germany - Tempodrom @
11-09 Hamburg, Germany - Color Line Arena @
11-14 Cardiff, Wales - International Arena &@
11-15 Brighton, England - Brighton Centre &@
11-16 Birmingham, England - NEC &@
11-18 Dublin, Ireland - Point Depot &@
11-19 Belfast, Ireland - Odyssey Arena &@
11-21 Aberdeen, Scotland - Exhibition Centre &@
11-22 Glasgow, Scotland - Secc Hall 4 &@
11-23 Glasgow, Scotland - Secc Hall 4 &@
11-25 Hull, England - Ice Arena &@
11-26 Manchester, England - Men Arena &@
11-27 Newcastle, England - Metro Radio Arena &@
11-28 Nottingham, England - Arena &@
11-30 London, England - Alexandra Palace &@
12-01 London, England - Alexandra Palace &@
12-02 London, England - Alexandra Palace &@
12-08 Stockholm, Sweden - Arena ^
12-11 Amsterdam, Holland - Heineken Music Hall @
12-12 Munich, Germany - Zenith @
12-14 Winterthur, Switzerland - Eulachhalle @
12-15 Vienna, Austria - Stadhalle @
12-17 Milan, Italy - Palalido @
12-18 Florence, Italy - Saschall @
12-19 Bologna, Italy - Paladozza @
12-21 Barcelona, Spain - Vall D'Hebron @
12-22 Madrid, Spain - Madrid Arena @
01-24 Sydney, Australia - Enmore Theatre

* with Cut Copy
# with Pretty Girls Make Graves
$ with TV on the Radio
% with Sons and Daughters
& with Editors
@ with The Rakes
^ with Arctic Monkeys

Franz Ferdinand: http://www.franzferdinand.co.uk/

Grandaddy Finishing New Album, Contemplating Future

With work winding down on their fifth full-length album, Grandaddy's charades can desist. Frontman Jason Lytle has informed several sources that the new album will be called Just Like the Fambly Cat, and that it will be released in early 2006 on V2 Records. (Gee, those boys sure do love those zany misspellings.)

According to Lytle, quoted in MTV.com, Fambly Cat takes its name from the fact that "when the family cat dies, he doesn't make a big deal about it. He does it in a graceful, respectful way with no fanfare. There's no dramatic squealing or rolling around on the floor. He just disappears." MTV.com was kind enough to contextualize these strange ruminations of Lytle's by explaining that Just Like the Fambly Cat is sort of a "kiss-off" album to Grandaddy's native Modesto, CA, a town he claims "sucks out people's souls." Lytle added in remarks printed in NME that "the [songs] are about the thoughtlessness and mindlessness of sprawl."

Lytle also revealed to MTV.com that 75 percent of the new album has been recorded and mixed, and that 12 of the 15 or 16 songs are by all intents and purposes finished. Some song titles that have been discussed are "Campershell Dreams," "Jeez Louise," "Disconnecty," "The Animal World," and "Where I'm Anymore."

Fine, you say, more of Grandaddy's lyrical critiques of technology's effect on the human soul; but what of the music? To MTV.com, Lytle said: "pretty ambitious music, in terms of song length and density," adding that many of the songs run over five minutes. To Billboard, Lytle opined, "It's really big and luscious and gooey. It's an extreme of everything."

Unfortunately, the future of the band seems to be in limbo. Last week, drummer Aaron Burch posted a dire message on the Grandaddy website: "Jason went public with his thoughts on the future of the band and of touring and it looks like we really are hitting a big bump in the road," he wrote. "None of us really knows what's going to happen and wherever this now leads us is very much up-in-the-air. Maybe things will work out in a direction we never thought about before and maybe it just won't. But do know that the new record will be completely mixed within days and it is really something to be proud of. If people buy it up, then we'll take stock and see what's ahead."

Uh oh! Grandaddy fans, save that Xmas cash to buy copies of Fambly Cat for your friends and, uh, fambly. The fate of the band rests in your hands.

Bonnie "Prince" Billy: http://www.bonnieprincebilly.com/
Drag City: http://www.dragcity.com/
Grandaddy: http://www.grandaddylandscape.com/

Dandy Warhols Plan Fall Tour, Design Shoes

It's with a slight (very slight) pang of disappointment that we report that the Dandys won't be following through with a similar approach on their fall tour in support of Odditorium, which was released earlier this month.

Instead, they're going to be playing traditional venues with their usual instruments. Bo-oring! C'mon people, let's try to at least get up to Kilroy Was Here standards!

The American portion of the trek will span 20 dates across the U.S. and Canada through November and December, and kicks off November 11 in Seattle. They'll be prancing across Europe before then. Fans can expect a healthy dose of Odditorium tracks (their first LP since 2003's Welcome to the Monkey House) during the trek before the retro-dabblers wrap up road duties for the year with a pair of shows in their native Portland.

The Dandy Warhols will whet fans' appetites with an appearance on Fox's "Mad TV" on October 11, performing lead Odditorium single "Smoke It." And if you're the kind of person who just can't get enough Dandy in your life, get pumped for late October, when John Fluevog shoes will unveil "The Dandy Warhol Boot," a "classic-styled leather boot" dreamed up by Dandy frontman Courtney Taylor-Taylor and upscale cobbler Fluevog. See, kids, rappers and basketball players aren't the only ones who get their own shoe lines!

Down like disco:

10-08 Ternat, Belgium - Rock Ternat Fest
10-09 Berlin, Germany - Columbia Club
10-11 Trondheim, Norway - UKA-05
10-12 Oslo, Norway - Rockefeller
10-15 Luxembourg, Luxembourg - Den Atelier
10-16 Munich, Germany - Muffathalle
10-17 Vienna, Austria - Arena
10-19 Zurich, Switzerland - Xtra
10-20 Cologne, Germany - Prime Club
10-22 Dublin, Ireland - Ambassador
10-23 Glasgow, Scotland - Academy
10-25 Manchester, England - Ritz
10-26 London, England - Hammersmith Palais
10-27 Paris, France - Elysee
10-29 Amsterdam, Holland - Max
11-14 Seattle, WA - Showbox
11-15 Vancouver, British Columbia - Commodore Ballroom
11-17 San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore
11-18 Los Angeles, CA - The Avalon
11-19 San Diego, CA - 4th & B
11-22 Dallas, TX - Gypsy Ballroom
11-25 Atlanta, GA - Earthlink Live
11-26 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle
11-27 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
11-29 New York, NY - Webster Hall
11-30 Boston, MA - Paradise Rock Club
12-02 Montreal, Quebec - Spectrum De Montreal
12-03 Toronto, Ontario - Opera House
12-05 Detroit, MI - St. Andrews Hall
12-06 Chicago, IL - Metro
12-07 Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
12-09 Denver, CO - Gothic Theatre
12-10 Salt Lake City, UT - Club Sound
12-13 Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom
12-14 Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom

The Dandy Warhols: http://www.dandywarhols.com/

VHS or Beta Reissue Debut, Tour with Doves, Bravery

Ah, but there is a disco ball of hope on the horizon. Astralwerks, the new home of VHS or Beta, has remastered and re-released the album into the wild as of September 20. The "deluxe" disc features remixes of "Solid Gold" by Freaky Chakra, Bob Mould, and Iz. (Yes, Bob Mould is a club DJ now, didn't you know that?) The remixes were originally released as a 12" on the STIFLE label.

Le Tracklist:

01 Heaven
02 Disco Paradise
03 Solid Gold
04 On & On
05 Flash (live)
06 Teenage Dancefloor (live)
07 Solid Gold (Bob Mould Loud Bomb Mix)
08 Solid Gold (Freaky Chakra Evolution Mix)
09 Solid Gold (Joshua's IZ Solid Gold Mix)

VHS or Beta just recently capped a staggering tour in support of Night On Fire, their 2004 Astralwerks debut; the venture saw them performing alongside the Scissor Sisters, Electric Six and Duran Duran, to name a few. They'll head back on the road this fall, hitting North American venues with Doves and the Bravery, and having one-night-stands with the Faint and fellow Kentuckians My Morning Jacket in their shared hometown.

Le Dates:

09-27 Chicago, IL - Riviera Theatre *
09-28 Columbus, OH - Newport Music Hall *
09-29 Philadelphia, PA - Trocadero $
09-30 Toronto, Ontario - The Docks *
10-01 Northampton, MA - Pearl Street *
10-04 St Louis, MO - The Pageant *
10-08 Lexington, KY - The Dame
10-21 Williamsburg, VA - College of William & Mary
10-22 Norfolk, VA - Norva #
10-23 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle #
10-25 Columbia, SC - Headliners #
10-27 Birmingham, AL - Zydeco #
10-28 Memphis, TN - New Daisy Theater #
11-23 Louisville, KY - Louisville Palace @
11-26 Miami, FL - Bang Music Festival

* with Doves
$ with The Faint
# with The Bravery
@ with My Morning Jacket

VHS or Beta: http://www.vhsorbeta.com/
Astralwerks: http://www.astralwerks.com/

Posted by Matt Amis in on Tue: 09-27-05: 12:00 AM CDT | Permalink